


Field Sobriety Test, The

by mcgarrygirl78



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Drama, Friendship, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-02-22
Updated: 2008-02-22
Packaged: 2019-05-31 09:27:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15116531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: He would begin again, this time getting it right.





	Field Sobriety Test, The

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

  
Author's notes: Written for tww_minis challenge on LJ. I cannot believe I kept it under 500 words. When Leo talks, the pen typically flows.  


* * *

Leo McGarry was an alcoholic, and a drug addict; he would be so for the rest of his life. That did not mean recovery was impossible. As cliché as it sounded, he was sick of being sick. He missed so much of his own life and there was no way to fill in the gaps. Dwelling on the past (the things he could not change) was useless. 

He wanted to reconnect with his wife, if it was not too late. Leo also needed to hug and kiss his precious daughter. He would go to Manchester as soon as he could to see Jed and Abbey Bartlet. This was the first day of the rest of his life, well the 31st day. He would begin again, this time getting it right. There were incidents to make up for, goals to accomplish, people to love, and life to experience.

Sober. Who knew such a powerful word had only five letters and two syllables? Never again to take a sip of scotch. Never again pop a pill to make the phantom pains dissipate. Leo had to face life…his past, future, and all the days in between. He took the hardest part of the journey alone, detox. He was desperate for his loved ones now.

“I bought you a pair of sunglasses and an orange soda.” She climbed into the driver’s seat, sliding the seatbelt over her chest.

“Why?” 

“Do we really need to have the sun glare conversation again?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Good. The soda is for the road. The sugar and caffeine might take the edge off.”

Margaret looked both ways before pulling out of the filling station and onto the highway. She drove I-10 heading toward El Paso.

“I'm thinking about climbing in the back for a nap.” Leo said.

“I told you there would be no Driving Mr. Secretary on this trip. You wanted to see America; it is a lot easier looking through the windshield.”

“I’m looking at cacti, asphalt, and road signs. Yet I'm so glad to be free. I am truly free this time Margaret.”

“I have total faith in you. Other people need consideration, however.”

They were driving from Tucson to Maryland. A 40-hour road trip counting for detours …like Thelma and Louise. Leo was shocked to walk out of rehab and find his beloved assistant waiting. He wanted to see America, he said in notes written to her; remember its beauty. Margaret took those words to heart.

Time on the road would help Leo adjust before returning to the pressures of real life. He was hopeful his family and friends would forgive him as Margaret had. She’d seen him at his worse over the course of their four years together. He needed to show her the healthier side of him…the man he truly was.

Lighting a cigarette, Leo turned up Billy Joel on the stereo, and concentrated on the vast highway ahead. It was full of potential, the path that led him home.

***


End file.
